Maybe our trout program is coming to an end.
FY 2010 State Budget Cut Alert
On Wednesday, January 28, 2009 Governor Deval Patrick released the long awaited bad news portrayed by his fiscal year 2010 budget proposal. Everyone that has anything to do with the state government expected the news to be bad and they certainly weren’t proven wrong.
The Governor’s budget proposal included increased fees and taxes which any economics 101 student can tell you that is the worst thing you can do in a bad economy. It also included drastic cuts in operational budgets. So how does it affect gun owners and sportsmen?
The Governor’s proposal will dramatically affect the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife’s (DFW) (line item 2310-0200) ability to sustain operational effectiveness as well their ability to maintain most of their programs such as pheasant and trout stocking. When looking up the DFW line item, you have to pay close attention to the fact that this budget proposal merges the hunter education ($400,000) and waterfowl management ($85,000) line items into the DFW general operating line item. This makes the DFW responsible for funding these programs through the general line item budget. So what appears to be a budget cut of $895,000 is actually closer to $1,500,000.
The land stamp program paid for by sportsmen and women is being cut from 1.5 million to 1 million.
Additionally, Governor Patrick proposes to take 20.68% (2 million dollars) of the Environmental Law Enforcement’s budget from the Inland Fish and Game Fund. Unlike the transgressions of the government in 2003, this is actually legal under the federal laws regarding the protection of the fish and game funds. This could spell bad news for the Inland Fish and Game Fund down the road.
Another budget cut of interest is the Criminal History Systems Board. This line is of importance because this agency contains the Firearms Records Bureau and is responsible for the processing of Firearm Identification Cards and Licenses to Carry. Its budget is being cut from 6.7 million dollars to 2.5 million dollars. The budget language does remark that some of this represents a movement of information and technology funding to another agency. GOAL will look into how this may affect licensing applications and renewals.
